Apparatus for placing a pickup on a record at a preselected position



March 4, 1952 A. W. COURTIS ET AL APPARATUS FOR PLACING A PICKUP ON A RECORD AT A PRESELECTED POSITION Filed March 14, 1949 2 SHEETSSHEET l INVENTORfi Apr/we Mum/w Cover/a Ksmvsg; GEORGE Dal/ems HALLE March 1952 A. w. COURTIS ET AL APPARATUS FOR PLACING A PIC KUP ON A RECORD AT A PRESELECTED POSITION 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed March 14, 1949 Patented Mar. 4, 1952 APPARATUS FOR PLACING A PI CKUP ON A RECORD AT A PRESELECTED POSITION Arthur William Courtis and Kenneth George Douglas Hallett, Brixton, London, England Application March 14, 1949, Serial No. 81,286 In Great Britain March 11, 1948 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for placing the pick-up of a sound reproducing device a on a rotating record at any pre-selected position thereon. Apparatus of this nature is used,

-for example, in theatres and in broadcasting studios for reproducing at a chosen time a particular part of the sound track of a record.

Heretofore it has been the practice to mount the pick-up so that it can be traversed across the record in a direction transverse to the grooves of the sound track and so that it can be raised and lowered. The pick-up mounting has been provided with a scale so that the pickup could be moved to any pre-selected position before being released to allow it to come into contact with the rotating record, the pick-up being released at the instant when the reproduction of the required part of the record is to begin.

In the operation of this type of apparatus, the record is played in the usual manner and the operator listens to the reproduction and notes the scale reading which indicates the position of the pick-up at the beginning of the required passage on the sound track. Subsequently, to reproduce the desired passage, the pick-up is moved to the selected position and is brought into engagement with the record at the instant when the reproduction is to begin. Such arrangements have three main disadvantages; firstly the pick-up may be released when the rotating record is in any angular position and this has the result that the pick-up may engage the track at any point in a revolution so that the sound track reproduced may commence atan undesired point of a complete revolution of the record. Secondly, since the grooves of the sound track form a spiral, the stylus of the pick-up may fall on a ridge between two grooves with the consequent possibility of subsequently moving into the wrong groove. Thirdly, in spite of the care taken in the production of records, many of them have a central hole for the turntable shaft which is slightly eccentric with respect to the sound-track grooves. This does not effect the normal playing of the record but it does result that if pick-up is allowed to fall onto the record from a pre-selected position above the turn-table the particular groove which the stylus engages will depend on the angular position of the record at the time of release of the pickup.

According to this invention, an apparatus for placing the pick-up of a sound-reproducing device on a rotating record at any pro-selected position thereon comprises means for adjusting the position of the pick-up in a direction trans verse to the direction of travel of the record, a device for indicating that position and means actuated by the rotating record or the drive thereof for bringing the pick-up into contact with the record when the latter is in a preselected angular position. By this arrangement the stylus of the pick-up will always engage the required groove at a particular position in the groove thus ensuring that the sound reproduction commences at exactly the required point and also eliminating any possibility of the sty lus engaging with the wrong groove..

There may be provided means actuated by the rotating record or the drive thereof for lifting the pick-up out of engagement with the record when the latter is in pre-selected angularposition. Thus the operator, by listening to a record to determine the particular part of the sound track required, is able to remove the pick-up, at a desired point and then not only knows from the indicator the position of the pick-up .but also knows the angular position of the record when the pick-up was removed. Thus it.is possible subsequently to set the apparatus to commence reproduction exactly at the chosen point.

The following is a description of one embodiment of the invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of .the pick-up arm and its associated position,indicator;

Figure 2 is a circuit diagram of the apparatus;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view illustrating the arrangement of the position indicating device and the means for moving the pick-up across the record;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Figure 3, but illustrating the construction of the electromagnetic lifting means; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view illustrating the construction of a camoperated switch mechanism.

Referring to Figure 1 the record carrying tumtable ID is mounted on anupright spindle H which is driven in the conventional manner. For reasons however which will become apparent hereinafter, the turntable I U is keyed to the shaft I i so that it will always bein a fixed angular position relative to the shaft. Pivotally mounted on a base 6 at one side of the turntable I0 as by means of a bushing l and ball thrust bearing 8 is an upright shaft l2 carrying the pick-up arm I3 so that as the pick-up l4 moves across'the record, 1. e. fromthe outside to the inside or viceversa, the shaft I2 rotates. This shaft by a ten tov one step-up, gearing representedby the toothed sector plate l5 and the pinion 16 secured to a pinion shaft 24 drives an indicating device comprising pointer I! which traverses a circular scale I 8 which is for convenience, arbitrarily cali- 4 open the contacts 35b in shunt across the drop switch 34. Hence if the drop switch 34 is operated, as soon as the cam switch contacts 35?) open, the circuit to the magnet coil 36 will be brated in degrees. The ten to one gearing is 5 broken, so interrupt ng the holding Current and chosen so-that-with usual dimensions of records allowing the pick-up to drop onto the record. It etc. the poin'ter'will ltravel approximately a' full will be particularly noted sth'atrthe pick-up will circle as the pick-up moves from the outside to engage the record when 'the spindle II is in the the inside of a record. Y. particular angular position in which the cam The pick-up arm I3 is mounted on the shaft l2 10' opens the switch contacts 35b and not at the by a cross pin so that it can pivot about'a horieXact instant of'operating the drop switch 3-1. zontal axis passing through the shaft 12, so 3 If, on the otherhand, the lift switch 36 is operallowing the pick-up to be liftedout of engageated, the subsequent operation of the cam switch ment with the record when required, the weight and Tthe closing of contacts 350 will short circuit of the pick-up normally keeping it in engagement 16 the resistor 33 so increasing the current through with the record. The end of the arm remote from the pick-up I4 extends beyond the horizontal pivot axis as shown at 26 in Fig. 4 and carries an elevator which mayf'comprise an electro-magtheiimagnet .coil 3fl. The values of the two re- "sistors are so proportioned that the increased current due to the shorting of the resistor 33 is suificient to lift the pick-up off the record. Hence,

net. H! which hasapole face 2.! co-operating with 20 .iia'. steel armature 26 mounted onIthe shaft l2 be- L' "the magnetpfilnthenornial operating iconclition a currenttis.passedthrough the magnet of uch strehgthjthat;:.if-itheilpick-up arm has been I1fted...out' ofiengagement' with. the record, and ence the. pole face 21 is close'to the armature 23, Jthe attractive force between the two will be 'sufiijcieiit to .hold the pick-up arm in this position. .Iflthe pick-up is, howev'er, in engagement with "."the' record; tlieipole' face .2'l is further from the "armature ZUaiid this normal energising current is ..not sufficient t'llftth'e pick-up off the record. f HOnLthe drivespindle 'H of the turntable l6 @isIsecureda-cani 28 having one lobe 29 arranged to operate a--double throw switch 35 for a short perms once. during each "revolution of the spindle. 'i'iThis "switch has a single. movable contact 35a {.Tv'vh'ich :normally'makes one circuit through one .;.flxed conta'ct35b but which is moved by the cam lobe -29 over to-another fixed contact 35:: so breaking. the fir'st circuit. and making a second -'circuit. 7

.L'Rei erring .to Figure 2, the-circuit for energising the solenoidcoil:30Tromthe two power input tereminalsl3l. comprises in series, a resistor 32, the ,..c' 11 3'0b'f-the electro-magnet l 9, a second resistor 33, anda-nornially closed .push button switch 34. :onnected.across. the contacts of the normally IAclosedswitch 34, which will be called the drop switch for reasons which will hereinafter be apmparent, are thenormally closed contacts b r .ofthe cam: operated switch 35,. the movable con- ..J...'tact'35a-of thisswitch being connected to that side "of the :dropswitch 34. which is connected to the resistor 33. In :shunt across the resistor 33,, is a circuit comprising, in series, a push-button switch 36 -having. normal1y open contacts (hereinafter known-as'the"lift switch) and-the normally opencontacts 35c of "the'cam operated switch 35. r It will be seen that-inthe normal condition, '-the ..=energising. current '-f01..the. magnet. coil 36 passes through both resistors 32 and 33 andthe w' circuitis completedbyboth the drop switclr 33 and the cam-operated switch contact 35b. The two: resistors. are: chosen to limit the energising current to the value such" that the magnet can hold "the' pick-up out of "engagement but cannot 'lift itrout of "engagement. With the coni Itacts of 'the drop switch -34'-c1osed and the con- "t'acts oftheliftswitch361open,'it will beseen 'th'at operation of thei'icam-operated switch 35 ill not alter the :"current' "through. the magnet. rotation'of the'cami '28wi1l, for a short 1 time during each revolution :.0f1: the'aspi-ndle .l I,

after the lift switch 36 is operated, the pick-up fidle'hasreach'ed the "angular position inwhich i the normallybpen-icamswitch -contacts -35c clo'se.

'ItWill again be 'noted' 'that the pick-up is lifted, 25 "not "at the" instant of i'op'eration ofthe lift"switch 36, 'but at theinstant when'the cam st'vitch 35 is operated i. e. when thespindle H is in a-predetermined angular position.

Theme of this apparatus to be described hereafter comprises two distinct steps; firstly playing the record-to determine the positional; which the required'p'art of the sound track bginaand secondlythe subsequentreproduction ofthis part of the sound track. It will be seen that ,with 35' this'apparatus, once the initialdeterminationhas beenmade, the record. may beiremovedfromthe turntable and can at anytimebereplaced'and required passage reproduced without "any further calibration," provided 'a' record. has been. kept of the required. pick-up position.

trarily provided with a single mark on its periphery 'and is put onthe turntable with this'mark .alignedwith a mark on the peripheryof the'turntable. As explained. earlier, the turntable I0 is keyed to its spindle ll so that the mark on" the turntable is in some fixed angular position rela- Ttiveto the 'cam. The record is played in the usual 'm'anner'for the'opera'tor to listen to it. During this time as the pick-up I41 moves towards the centre of the record, the indicator pointer ll traverses its scale I8, possibly'with an irregular .motion due to the eccentricity of the, grooves on the record. .The operator presses the lift switch" 367 as soon .as. the required passage commences and holds it downuntil the pick-up lifts due to theiope'ration of the camswitch 35 which .is .possiblya "fraction V ofa second later. The lift switch .361 can then-be 50 released, asthe.nQrmaLmagnetcurrent will hold the pick-up 01f the record. .IIheI indicator readingis then-noted. This rea'ding givesthe position of-the pick-up arm at the first. operation ofthe cam switch after the lift switch 36 was pressed.

. At-any subsequent time,*the recordcan be put on the turntable with the appropriatemarks ---aligned and --the pick-up arm moved manually -:until the indicator reading corresponds to. that previously noted Then,- when the required .passage is to be reproduced, the drop switch 34 is pressed. The pick-up will then drop on to the "thus'ensuring that the record is in the same angular position when the pick-up :falls as it was when;stheapickeupi wasaliited... As .explaihedbewill be lifted offtherecord'" as soonas the spin- .For the 'initialifcalibration, the record is arbirecor'd'as soon as-thecam -switch-35is operated,

'jjit'reg this removes any engaging the wrong groove.

possibility of the stylus For some purposes this simple method of operation which ensures that the stylus drops into an arbitrary fixed position in a known groove may be adequate. However, it is often desired to select a particular angular position in the groove. This may be done in the following way. Instead "of having a single mark on'the turntable a numthe pick-up lifts too late, say a quarter of a revolution after the commencement of the required passage, the record is moved on the turntable through 90 so that the record mark is aligned with another one of the four turntable marks. Since the pick-up lifts when the cam is in a predetermined angular position, it will now lift at a position on the record which is 90 from the previous position. It will be found in practice that an adjustment to an accuracy of a quarter of a revolution is quite adequate for almost all purposes but it will be appreciated that much greater accuracy of adjustment can be obtained by this method. When the required passage is to be reproduced it is necessary to align the record with the proper one of the four turntable marks and then proceed as before.

For adjusting the pick-up arm to a selected indicator reading, it is preferable to provide a slowmotion drive. In one such arrangement, the armature 20 of the solenoid is made in the form of a disc and secured to the shaft 12. Adjacent the periphery of this disc another upright shaft 2| is journaled for rotation on the base 6 and fitted with a knob 22 for manual operation. A felt or rubber roller 23 engages the edge of the disc 20 to give a friction drive to the periphery of the disc. Since the armature 20 is fixed to the shaft l2 carrying the pick-up arm l3, rotation of the knob 22 will move the pick-up arm and simultaneously traverse the pointer I! over the scale I8.

It will be appreciated that the cam-operated switch 35, might be replaced by a relay controlled by a photo-cell which is responsive to a mark made on the record. In this case it is no longer necessary to have the turntable keyed to the shaft II.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for placing the pickup of a sound reproducing device on a rotating record at any preselected position thereon comprising a drive means for rotating said record, elevator means actuatable to lower said pickup into contact with said record and. operable to lift said pickup out of engagement with said record, actuating means connected to said elevator means and operable by said drive means in a predetermined angular position of said record to actuate said elevator and lower said pickup when said record is in said predetermined angular position, and control means connected between said actuating meansand said elevator means and enabled by operation of said actuating means to operate said elevator and lift said pickup out of engagement with said record when said record is in said predetermined angular position.

2. An apparatus for placing the pickup of a sound reproducing device on a rotating record at any preselected position thereon comprising a drive means for rotating said record, an electromagnet adapted when energized to hold said pickup out of engagement with said record, a source of power for energizing said magnet, a pair of normally'closed contacts connected in series with said source and said magnet, actuating means operated by said drive means in a predetermined angular position of said record for opening said contacts for. ashort period during each revolution of said record whereby said pickup can move into engagement with said'record only when said record is in said predetermined angular position, a pair of normally open contacts operatively associated with said actuating means to be closed thereby for a short period during each revolution of said record, and a manually operable normally open lift switch connected between said source and said magnet in series with said normally open contacts.

3. An apparatus for placing the pickup of a sound reproducing device on a rotating record at any preselected position thereon comprising a drive means for rotating said record, an electromagnet adapted when energized to hold said pickup out of engagement with said record, a source of power for energizing said magnet, a pair of normally closed contacts connected in series with said source and said magnet, actuating means operated by said drive means in a predetermined angular position of said record for opening said contacts for a short period during each revolution of said record whereby said pickup can move into engagement with said record only when said record is in said predetermined angular position, a pair of normally open contacts operatively associated with said actuating means to be closed thereby for a short period during each revolution of said record, a manually operable normally open lift switch connected between said source and said magnet in series with said normally open contacts, :a manually operable normally closed drop switch conneeted in parallel with said normally closed contacts whereby the circuit connecting said magnet to said source may be interrupted only when said manually operable drop switch has been opened, and means connected at one end to said. magnet and connected in shunt with said lift switch and in series with said drop switch for maintaining said pickup in any position in which it may be placed by operation of either of said switches until the other of said switches is operated and despite restoration of either of said switches to their normal positions.

4. An apparatus for placing the pick-up of a sound reproducing device on a rotating record at any preselected position thereon comprising means for moving said pick-up in a direction transverse to the direction of travel of said record to any desired position, a position indicating device for indicating the position of said pick-up relative to said record, an electro-magnet adapted when energized to hold said pick-up out of engagement with said record, a source of power for energizing said magnet, a normally closed control switch connected in series with said "source and said magnet, means operated by rotation of said record for opening said control switch for a short period during each revolution of said record whereby said pick-up can move into engagement with said record only when said record is in the angular position in which said control switch is opened, a manually operable normally closed switch, a circuit connecting said switch in parallel with said normally closed control switch whereby the circuit connecting said magnet to said source is interrupted by said control switch only when#seid -manually I operable switch has been' opened-e eur-rent 'limiting-v means connected between said sourceand saidmagnet for normally 1imiting -theeurrentenergizing said mag- .net to a normal value sueh that said-magnetcan hold- Saidpick-upout of engagementwith said said record;

- -5a-Anapparatusaccording to claim 4 wherein said means for momentarily increasing said current incliides a-pair of contacts connected in circuit--with said current-limiting. means together with acontact-closing mechanism operated by rotation of saidrecord toclose said contacts'once V 8 during each revolution" of said record-whereby said pick-up can be moved out disengagement with said record by said magnet onlywheii'said record is in a preselected-angular 'po'sition';

ARTHUR WILLIAM' coURTIs. KENNETH GEORGE DOUGLAS REFERENCES CITED The following references are -of record-in:- the file of this patent.

UNITED STATES "PATENTS" v Number Name Date 4,

2,201 ,204 Runyan May 21; 1940 2,307,259 'Fling Jan. 5', 1943 7 2,352,778 Eddy July 4,1944 

